#276
Hahoe Mask Returns (1)
Deep within the Abyss.
The being carefully observed the lifeform that had suddenly entered its domain.
No matter how meaningless the concept of time was to it, that did not mean it was entirely devoid of the emotion called boredom.
So it was only natural that its interest would be piqued by the irregular that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Could it be a god? A god stuck in a place like this. Hmm, if so…”
For now, simply maintaining his own form within this space was enough to pass.
His flesh, of course, and even the rank possessed by his existence were beyond reproach.
With curiosity slowly surging within it, the being decided to play a small prank.
Guuung—
A writhing wave of chaos swept out in every direction.
Even so, that lifeform—the leader of Beoncheonhoe—did not so much as blink.
As if he had twisted the surrounding space itself, he merely let it flow past him naturally.
“…Is this that sort of world? How troublesome. I prefer the noninterventionist type.”
Even amid all that, the leader of Beoncheonhoe was calmly muttering something to himself.
But just as he had no interest in what the other party was saying, the being that ruled this place was the same.
It had been a very long time since it had last cared about the personalities and egos of mortals.
And so there was not the slightest hesitation in its next action.
—Ahh— my lord! My god—
Its possession, its slave, and its toy.
It took out one of the souls it had copied and stored away, then shoved it into the other party’s body.
If things went well and it could obtain that physical terminal, would it not be able to attempt again what it had failed to accomplish not long ago?
‘Gods really are self-righteous bastards in every world.’
At that, the leader of Beoncheonhoe narrowed his eyes.
“Tch. Pointless tricks.”
—Kkaaaak—!
He tore the foreign substance that had entered his body to shreds on the spot.
And at the same time, a pair of enormous wings, each more than three meters long, appeared from his back.
Paaaat—
In that instant, a twilight radiance spread out, pushing away the chaos and abyss that covered the surroundings.
It was an alien divine power that could not be seen in this world.
Wriggle—
As if displeased, the surrounding space writhed.
The torn slave soul was not much of a problem, since there were still many copies left anyway.
What had irritated the being was that grating energy.
Divine power, daring to appear in its domain?
Yet even as it grew angry, it also felt curiosity.
A divine power it had never seen before.
That was undoubtedly the energy of an Outer God, one not of this place, Auterica.
And yet that lifeform was not borrowing it from someone else, but had held it within himself and was now emitting it on his own.
In other words, the other party was a being that possessed divinity.
At the very least, he had the minimum qualifications to face it.
—Kkaaa— ahh… my god…
Even then, the copied soul cried out to it until the very end before crumbling away, but the being no longer paid even the slightest attention to that side.
“A god, huh… From the looks of it, you seem to have been driven out of that seat.”
Gurgle—
Perhaps he had touched a reverse scale, for the space churned and reacted violently.
No matter how fallen, a god was still a god.
Simply expressing emotion was enough for space to twist beneath that pressure.
But even amid those raging waves, the leader of Beoncheonhoe continued speaking without batting an eye.
“How about we have a brief conversation before you get so worked up? Even if you act that way, I can simply return as I am.”
Then, with eyes holding a strange light, he quietly looked at the being sunken in that deep place.
He did not like the race called gods, but the being stuck here… Whatever it might have been in the past, it could no longer be called a proper god now.
It seemed to have been expelled from its divine throne and sealed away long ago.
And that also meant—
‘It has something it wants, too. I can make use of this.’
If he did, it would certainly be of no small help in finishing his work here.
Of course, the problem was that the place he had entered just happened to be this dimension’s prison and garbage dump.
‘It looks like this will take longer than expected. But…’
As he quietly examined his surroundings, his brow furrowed slightly.
The aura contained within the disorderly torrents of energy sweeping every direction felt subtly familiar.
‘…Hmm. Is it just my imagination?’
But he soon dismissed it as nothing.
To begin with, the dregs of worlds were similar everywhere, and at the moment, he did not have the leeway to waste attention on such things.
And so, within the Abyss that covered every direction.
The masterminds of two worlds encountered each other.
***
The internet site that had been rapidly increasing its membership, Dawn’s Seonangdang.
Even that site, which had grown at a frightening pace since its early days, had recently seen its growth begin to taper off.
Part of it was that everyone likely to join had already joined, but the long disappearance of the one who had been at their center had also had no small influence.
‘Well, it’s a fan site, so it can’t be helped.’
They were all people who had come together after being moved by the exploits of the dark hero known as “Hahoe Mask,” and yet the person himself had abruptly vanished. How could it be otherwise?
Thanks to that, even among those who had steadily prayed for his return, unrest was slowly spreading.
-(link) Someone posted a bloody broken Hahoe mask and a robe as proof. Is this real?
-No no no, fake fake fake.
-How long has Hahoe Mask been lying low? Feels like it’s been over a week. Hasn’t it been about two? Don’t tell me he really…
-No, it hasn’t even been a month. You people are freaking out just because he’s taking a short break;;
└Honestly, if he’d gone dark after cleaning up all of Japan, I’d think he was just resting, but doesn’t it make you suspicious that he stopped in the middle without finishing everything?
└ㅜㅜ There aren’t even any sightings in Korea. Even if he’s not dead, isn’t he really hurt somewhere?
└Ah, if he’s alive, he should at least report in that he survived lol. We’ll let him rest, so pleaseㅠㅠ
Perhaps thanks to his merciless judgment of criminals, the resulting improvement in domestic public order, and even his activities overseas that had put him in the media, there were more people supporting him than expected.
Not only on that fan site, but even in other communities, it had become easy to find those who followed him.
Naturally, more people also began linking him with Heinz II, the “Phantom,” who had recently started making a name for himself.
Of course, they were not simply suspecting a relationship between the two…
-Who do you think made Korea this peaceful? Seeing people instantly switch sides just because that guy in the Opera Ghost mask copying Hahoe Mask is running around makes me sick;;
There were also quite a few who were so overly invested that they perceived the two as outright rivals.
Those who had received direct help from Hahoe Mask, or benefited from him in some way.
But there were not many who agreed with such reactions.
-It is kind of like that. Those guys were waiting for the chance to tear Hahoe Mask down.
-No, but did Hahoe Mask take out a patent or something? Whoever it is, if things got safer thanks to them, that’s all that matters. People really throw a fit over everything.
└For real. Whether it’s a yellow ox or a black ox, isn’t it fine as long as it works well?
-I’m grateful for everything he’s done, but honestly, the black mage thing makes me a little uneasy.. haha;
└Ah, me too. What if he went dark because his dark magic ran wild somewhere? He might suddenly snap and pop out as a villain later.
└Wow.. That really might happen;
└Those OH bastards and their media play are seriously disgusting.
To begin with, Hahoe Mask had earned this level of support entirely thanks to his contributions to public order, and Phantom’s fan site, “Opera House,” which had recently been established and begun growing, actively pushed back against them as well.
‘Mm, Heinz’s fandom is growing faster than I expected. As expected, is it because he’s been active from the start without caring about cameras and such?’
Unlike Hans, he could not teleport in the blink of an eye, but Heinz’s range of activity was not particularly narrow either.
If limited to within Seoul, he had the mobility to arrive anywhere in a matter of minutes.
On top of that, he was not associated with dark magic, which many people found unsettling, and anything that might make people suspect him of being a vampire could be thoroughly hidden with 「Existence Denial」. Most of all…
Unlike Hans, the fact that he had an extremely outstanding appearance also had a very large impact.
The trigger had been a single photograph taken by chance right after a judgment.
The problem was that his beauty captured in it was so overwhelming that an opera half-mask could not conceal it all.
‘That was definitely… impressive even to me.’
A photograph that became a topic of conversation online with just that one shot.
It showed Heinz II turning to look toward the photographer, wearing a stylish luxury suit and a white half-mask beneath the pouring moonlight.
Even though he had not stopped them from taking pictures, he had not posed separately either. Yet perhaps because the person who took the photo was someone in the industry, even though it had been zoomed in from a considerable distance, the resulting scene looked like something from a pictorial.
‘And it seems 「Beguilement」 was slightly captured through the photo, too.’
Apparently, the effect that had strengthened as Heinz’s rank rose had naturally influenced the photograph as well.
He had obtained it right after dealing with Alpha, but since he had not had any particular use for it, he had practically forgotten about it until now.
Perhaps because of that, the criminals sprawled around him felt like part of the props that enhanced his dangerous yet fatal charm.
‘He’s bound to be compared with the gloomy, completely wrapped-up black mage Hahoe Mask in many ways.’
That was probably why the popularity of the devilish man Heinz II had spread so quickly, centered around women.
It was regrettable that the world was overrun by lookism, but it was an unavoidable reality.
‘Well, both of them are me, so it doesn’t matter either way. Maybe I should take this chance to openly form a masked secret organization and operate like that?’
As for the name, roughly… how about Masquerade?
Since things had come to this, he could gather all the other avatars, including Heinrich, and…
‘No, let’s think about that later for now.’
He reined in and organized his thoughts, which had been about to drift elsewhere, and focused on the schedule ahead.
After all, an important plan was now right before his eyes.
Shiiiiik—
In the stillness, the sound of cutting through the wind fiercely brushed past the surroundings.
A night in which even the moonlight held its breath.
The waves of the sea faintly visible below soon changed into the nightscape of a splendid downtown district.
Into a dreamlike city shining beautifully in colorful hues.
‘Let’s see. The location is…’
At a certain point above the city he had reached after crossing the sea, Shanghai.
[…Found it.]
Hans, who had used 「Eye of the Abyss」 to determine the target’s exact location, murmured coldly.
Amid security so immense that he would have had no choice but to miss it without prior information.
Within it, a familiar presence had been detected.
‘The East Asia branch head of Beoncheonhoe, the Lawgiver.’
There was no longer any need to hesitate.
At their level, they had probably already grasped that he had appeared in Shanghai.
From this point on, it would be swift and decisive.
Hans’s body descended faster than it had flown until now.
And at last.
Kwaaaaang—!
The barrier blocking his path shattered, and a thunderous explosion erupted.
It was a dazzling celebratory firework announcing the signal of Hahoe Mask’s resurrection.
***
An office reflecting splendid decorations and the night view.
“Whew.”
After finishing his discussion with the North America branch head, the Secretary, the Lawgiver sank deeply into his chair.
Then he turned it toward the window and stretched his right hand to the side, taking hold of a teacup.
Slurp—
A leisurely time of rest alongside the beautiful night view.
As he blankly gazed out the window, his eyes suddenly turned to his own right arm, and his expression naturally crumpled.
At the tips of his five fingers, thin metal wires extending from the back of his neck split into several strands and were connected at length.
This was a cutting-edge magic tool that the Doctor had made for him after he lost his arm in Hahoe Mask’s mental world, one that forcibly moved his body according to his will.
‘Hahoe Mask…’
As he looked at it and slowly wiggled his fingers, he sank into thought.
The enemy of the Society, who had not appeared even now, quite some time after vanishing from Japan.
At this point, something must have gone wrong with him because of what happened back then.
In other words, the bleeding had not been one-sided on their end.
Thinking that, his crumpled expression eased slightly.
‘Countermeasures against him are also being prepared step by step. Once this cooperation with the Secretary is properly wrapped up, this time for certain…’
However.
Was there not an old saying?
Speak of the tiger, and it will come.
If even a mere tiger was like that, then if it was the Demon King of an entire world…
Beeeep—! Beeeep—! Beeeep—!
Perhaps it would not be so strange for him to appear just from being thought of.
-Lord Lawgiver! This is bad! Right now, in Shanghai airspace…!
The alarm devices installed in the base blared noisily.
An emergency communication came in from a subordinate in the security room.
And at the same time.
A blood-red message streamed across his left artificial eye.
Crash—!
The teacup that fell from his hand shattered loudly, but with the assistance of the support device, he shot to his feet and did not even look that way.
No, he could not.
Kwaaaaang—!
Together with the rough impact that soon shook the building.
[Keuk-keuk-keuk— Well now, it truly has been a long time.]
The voice he had only been thinking of moments ago.
A voice flowing out from the bottomless pit froze the space itself.